Who fears to click on ’98?
To commemorate the bicentenary of 1798, the National Library, in collaboration with the National Museum, will be releasing in March a CD-Rom, The Fellowship of Freedom: the United Irishmen and the 1798 Rebellion. There are four major sections, accessed through popular patriotic prints displayed on a Victorian-style living room:
1 The Irish Volunteers
Francis Wheatley’s spectacular painting is used to explore the political context of the late eighteenth century.
2 The Trial of William Orr
This 1797 trial is reconstructed using costumed actors to open up the world of Ulster Presbyterianism. Orr, the first republican martyr, was a respectable and respected Presbyterian United Irishman, whose dignified behaviour on the scaffold electrified Antrim and Down.
3 The Military Campaigns
Identifying five principal theatres of war (Bantry Bay, South Leinster, the Dublin area, east Ulster, and Connacht), viewers can zoom in, follow the principal battles in blow by blow details, and understand the background to the last major field war in Ireland.
4 The United Irishmen
Illustrated biographies of twenty-three leaders.
Designed by Martello Multimedia, the disc is compatible with both Apple Mac and Windows PCs. Creative Director, Mark Leslie, observed that researching and designing it had been ‘a journey of personal discovery: my ancestor, Col. Leslie of Glaslough, burnt the town of Antrim hunting down the croppy forebears of Stephen Gibson, our Director of Production!’
Enquiries: Brendan Mahon (01) 6030211.